I hope I'm not repeating a question here. In Kaptar at the power hub there's that elaborate control panel where it seems everything that can be put on a control panel was put on that one. For the longest time I assumed it controlled the stairs (until I figured out otherwise). What exactly is the deal with that???? I swear to you it gave me a complex. I was obsessed with it for a very long time, completely fixated. I spent the whole game thinking about what I would end up doing with it.

It's main function is as the counterweight for the stairs. The 20 digit code you found in the war room causes the device to detatch from the stairs, which either lets you drop the stairs (if you enter the number while the device is lowered) or destroy the device and get an achievement (if you enter the code while the device is in midair)

It might be worth noting that this device is called "Box of Infinite Complexity" in the Steam achievement related to it. So it is basically a red herring. It appears that Cyan deliberately put this into the game both for the second reason mentioned by Twitch and to make fun of this concept notoriously used in adventure games. After all, the sheer amount of possible configurations make it literally impossible to figure out any purposeful use of that device without a concrete clue

Twitch's first explanation of the device's function appears to be intentionally made ambiguous by the fact that it is connected to a battery. It just does not make any sense to power something that is only meant to be

Hahaha! Yes, but with these guys you never know. I was leaning in the red herring direction, especially because of what it's attached to and the fact that it looks rather out of place. Nevertheless it drove me crazy thinking maybe I'd have to use it And it made me feel like I wasn't as smart as I think I am! The Gauntlet replaced my confidence in myself, thankfully.

A little off-topic, Baladria, but just to say that I've been enjoying your blog! I was pacing myself as to when I read each post, so you didn't get ahead of me, and so I could avoid spoilers, but then I finished Obduction before your posts did, so was able to read the final few posts comfortably. It was great to share your journey, and you took some lovely pics!

The fact that it's a red herring is even apparent in-game: the text on the back translates to "Boondoggle" which means "work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value"

Acorn1 wrote:A little off-topic, Baladria, but just to say that I've been enjoying your blog! I was pacing myself as to when I read each post, so you didn't get ahead of me, and so I could avoid spoilers, but then I finished Obduction before your posts did, so was able to read the final few posts comfortably. It was great to share your journey, and you took some lovely pics!

Aww! Wow thanks!! I didn't double-edit my last ones so I hope they're not goofy, what with my cat stepping on my computer and the monsoon that erupted from my ceiling. I also made a more coherent guide to the Gauntlet puzzles which I need to upload to be available with my number puzzle one. I guess you probably are familiar with my obsession with this control box, and the foul language that accompanied it lol!!

Apparent? Ouch... Thanks a lot, man. I guess I'll try not to take Russian letters so seriously next time. It looks like there were a lot of arrows pointing in the red herring direction. But I admit to having a small brain when it comes to these games.